Murphy backed Westinghouse loans
WASHINGTON -- A Republican lawmaker who has criticized the Department of Energy's $529 million loan guarantee to an electric car company that is manufacturing vehicles overseas has championed U.S.-backed loans to a company headquartered in his home district that does business around the globe.
Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., has called for the House Energy and Commerce's oversight subcommittee to investigate the DOE decision to award the loan to Fisker Automotive, which is manufacturing its first line of vehicles in Finland.
While DOE officials and Fisker maintain that no U.S. taxpayer money was used at the plant in Uusikaupunki, Finland, Murphy has cast doubt that the company could isolate its spending on domestic and international operations.
"I don't know how strongly they can isolate that (DOE funding) because … Fisker otherwise would have to invest their own private money into the R&D, the research and development and design and engineering for this vehicle that is going to be made in Finland," Murphy said in an interview Tuesday with Fox Business. In another interview with ABC News, he said that "ultimately, American taxpayer dollars went to a Finnish automaker to build high-end luxury automobiles for Hollywood."
Murphy, however, has backed financing for the Westinghouse Electric, which owns facilities in countries including Sweden, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Spain, Germany and the Ukraine and is headquartered in Murphy's district. In May, Murphy introduced legislation that would provide loan guarantees up to $450 million to Westinghouse for the construction of two new nuclear power plants in the United States.
Murphy was also among 114 lawmakers in 2005 that voted against an amendment, which passed the House, that would have blocked the U.S. Export-Import Bank from providing $5 billion in financing requested by Westinghouse to support the construction of four power plants in China. Yet, he also was a proponent of imposing "Buy America" policy amendment as part of President Obama's $800 billion stimulus act.
"I stand by my position that protection of U.S. tax dollars is not a bad policy," Murphy said to constituents last week. "Never should taxpayers foot the bill so private investors can make a buck in foreign lands."
Murphy has received more than $40,000 in contributions from Westinghouse employees and the company's political action committee, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Murphy did not respond to a request for comment. His legislative director, Brad Grantz, defended the congressman's legislation for the $450 million loan guarantee, noting the financing was going to build reactors in Georgia and South Carolina and not for "risky luxury automobiles being made in Finland."
"Congressman Murphy remains committed to holding the administration accountable and protecting the taxpayer's money," Grantz said.
So far, Fisker has spent about $193million of the loan money and about $336 million remains unspent, said Roger Ormisher, a spokesman for Fisker.
The money has been spent on the design and engineering work — being done from the company's headquarters in Anaheim, Calif. — for the first generation of luxury vehicles known as the Fisker Karma, which are to be manufactured at the Finland plant.
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